Happy 2015!

I hope you had a blessed, beautiful holiday season this year and that you are excited about 2015! I miss blogging. No grandiose visions of making money or having thousands of readers -- but written things. Writing usually equals having to think about things, and that has to be good for a person!

Since January is a great time to look over things that we'd like to change, I noticed about three things that intertwine with each other that I think I want to improve for me and this house this coming year: save money, be healthier, be greener. Yeah, I am sure these goals are pretty common and are also really, really vague. (I have specific steps in mind!)

But I like these three things because they are super interconnected. My thought process is that we save money when we don't have to keep buying things. Herp derp derp, everyone knows that. However, there are a lot of things that we don't realize we have to constantly refill and repurchase that we could easily replace with something that lasts. Most of those kinds of things things are everyday products that end up in the garbage, and then a landfill. We can also save money by taking the slow way of cooking rather than the quick way with processed, prepackaged foods, which also end up with a lot of trash!

Lots of things done just a little more slowly, the old-fashioned way, makes a huge difference.

Are you thinking of making some changes along these lines, too? Here are some of my favorite things that I found that you might like!

1. Planet Wise Reusable Snack Bags

Image from planetwiseinc.com

I find that I don't go through plastic zipper bags that fast since it's generally just a few people using them, but they still often hold a little bit of food or one toothbrush for travel, and then end up in the trash. These are really cute reusable snack bags (made in the U.S. -- awesome!) that you can use, throw in your washing machine in a cold wash, leave to dry, and use again! 

I had some Paypal money sitting around from using Smart App and Ibotta, so I grabbed a couple of these from Nicki's Diapers since through this retailer, they ship for free and you get reward points you can use later. 

Yes, it's primarily a cloth diaper store, but they also have other reusable home products that can help presently kid-free families (like us, obvi). And we plan on using cloth diapers someday when we do have kids because of the cheapness and environmental impact, so if you are going to be entering the world of parenting a baby anytime soon, that's something else you can totally look into to save money and be green! 

2. Topping Sweet Potatoes with... Everything

My sweet potato bounty!

Huh?

The inspiration came from this recipe for paleo pulled pork topped sweet potatoes. Now, I am not really a big believer in the paleo diet, per se, but this combo sounded SO GOOD. It got me thinking about what else you could put on a baked sweet potato. Maybe some kind of cordon bleu with chicken, ham, and swiss? A Mexican style topping of ground turkey, salsa, cheese and sour cream?

Sweet potatoes are a whole food packed with nutrients. They also happen to be pretty cheap and filling, and last a while if you store them in a cool, dark place. Incorporating them into more dinners by sweet potato-fying your regular casseroles and crockpot meals is smart for your health and wallet. 

3. Grocery Shopping with a System EVERY Time

Me, in the college days, holding a leek at Publix. Why? I don't know. My bangs were also turnt up due to the Florida humidity that I don't miss. This just fits the grocery shopping theme, I guess? I miss being that tan. :'(

I am far from a crazy coupon lady. We don't get any newspapers, for starters, so we don't get coupons in the mail -- just printing them once in a while or using them exclusively in an online format. The stockpiling and clearing out entire stores that you see on TV isn't what I am interested in for a few reasons:

A. Too much time

B. Too much effort

C. Too much shame (I am a major people-pleaser and I can't stand taking up tons of time in line!)

D. Too much junk food that I don't want to eat

The last point is probably the biggest one -- you usually can't use coupons to save on fresh fruits and veggies. They often are for things such as sugary cereal, which we really don't eat even when we have it, so it'd be a waste. (Although if Oreo O's came back, this would be a totally different story. Dlahsdlifhalisudhf crying.)

And we're trying to eat healthier, so how do you get fresh and better foods on a budget?

I've already blogged before about what I usually do here, but I realized that a gap in my system is menu planning. This is huge. Being realistic about what I have time and energy to cook, and what we will really like is key. Will it make good leftovers that we actually want to eat? Does it reheat well? What sides go with the main entreés we like? Can the ingredients for these sides be used in other sides later in the week? 

It may take time to see how best to plan menus for you, after seeing what leftovers you really don't want to eat or what groceries are going bad before you can use them again. Set up multiple reminders to bring leftovers to lunch the next day, or when certain things in the fridge go bad so you can use them up! 

And when you plan that menu, save that money. Then, proceed to drop the mic.

4. Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap

Image from mrsmeyers.com. Drool. This scent is one of my faves. Thanks to my brother for introducing this stuff to me.

Although this truth might not seem to jive with the other things I talk about, you need to know: I am extremely biased against all things "crunchy," or hippie. 

How can this be? I bought reusable snack bags!

I will never go "no poo" and wash my hair with vinegar. I prefer using over-the-counter medicine for sickness over teas and garlic. I think that essential oils are mostly voodoo science. I will not give up my Urban Decay eyeshadows and start making them out of cocoa powder or whatever. (You're totally free to disagree with any of the above, by the way!)

My point: yo no soy hippie.

However, if there is a more eco-friendly alternative with more natural ingredients -- that doesn't smell like vinegar, and actually works -- I want to switch. There are some chemicals that I don't love having on my skin if I can help it. 

Here is where Mrs. Meyer's joins the party. The scents are so, so excellent; I love Basil, Peony, and Iowa Pine the most. The fragrances are from essential oils, which is still OK by me as long as no one tells me to start rubbing it on my feet to cure the flu. The other ingredients are more natural. And it works like regular ol' soap.

They also have laundry detergent, dish soap, and other products that are earth friendly! I feel the best use of my money is investing in the soap since it has the most direct contact with skin, so that's the only thing I buy from them right now. Grab some at Target or Meijer sometime and enjoy smelling your hands over and over without realizing it. (Meijer had an mPerk coupon one time for them to be BOGO, which is a killer deal, by the way!)

5. Handwash, Handwash, Handwash!

Ever since moving to Michigan... I have finally been able to indulge myself in my love of graphic sweaters without shame.

I have been über guilty of this, but I used to just chuck everything into the washing machine and be done. On the bright side, when I did this, it was with all my college student-era clothes, which tended to be on a college student budget, so nothing made out of silk or wool. Wool? In Florida? Who are we kidding?

Now that I've hit the middle part of my 20's, I've invested in a few somewhat higher quality things, such as nicer undergarments, blouses, and sweaters. The sticker shock can turn some people away from spending more on clothes, but if they are made better and taken care of, then they will last ages longer than the typical Rue21 or Wet Seal stuff, thus saving you money! And you'll look good, too.

Delicate items deserve to be washed by hand. Some people find it time-consuming and a pain, but for some reason, I have found it highly gratifying since I recently started. I like knowing that the items I really like and invested money into are going to look good. 

Good ol' Woolite does a great job, but if you're really going for the budget option, use baby shampoo! It is gentle and gets things nice and clean. Or, hey -- I bet my buddy Mrs. Meyer would do a good job. Turn items inside out and soak them in warm water with your cleanser mixed in, and then massage the pieces, focusing on the areas where you might sweat the most. Rinse with cold water, and lay on a towel and roll up your garment to get the excess water out. Hang to dry and you're good to go! (Ikea has awesome little octopus hanging racks that will work great!)

Whew. These are a few little things I've incorporated to get us closer to living the kind of life that we want, with more money in the bank, healthier bodies, and a healthier planet. Mind, none of these things should be idolized! They are good things, but not the greatest thing. 

Make plans to know God more this year, and love Him more deeply. Everything else should just point to Him, as we steward what He's given us in the wisest way possible. I should post later as well about what practical steps I am taking to do just that.

What goals do you have as this year starts off fresh? What tiny steps will you take to get you started? What bigger steps should follow? What inspires you?

Kicking off the new year with you,

- Lara

Money, Honey

I am currently on a crash course about running a frugal home. While I've never been a huge spender -- I do a lot of Publix BOGO-ing and scavenge sale racks like it's going out of style (heh heh) -- I am liable to arrive home with three bottles of nail polish and the ingredients to make homemade sushi on a whim. How'd that stuff get in there?

But a lot of expenses are coming my way that I am not accustomed to. I've never had to budget for another person, for one thing. That will be totally different! We're going to have to buy a lot more food! But also things like insurance, home repair emergency money, cable/internet, and all that other stuff are newer to me. I'm glad that I got my feet wet moving out and managing my rent, gas, and food away at USF, but I am doing tons of research and preparation for budgeting at the billionth level of what I already do.

It can be overwhelming. I know that I am overly worried compared to a lot of people my age, who've been working already. Something that Darin and I are set on, though, is having the best financial start we can possibly make for ourselves. We want to scratch debt, keep our luxury purchases way down, and have a really good savings base for emergencies squared away before buying new cars or computers. We are lucky that we both have parents who are helping us a lot, from taking care of the wedding to donating furniture they don't want anymore, and I am so excited to learn how to be a good steward of all the blessings we are receiving!

There are some tricks and tips that I am learning about that I want to be held accountable to do:

1. Plan our menus like crazy. Basing our meals off store deals and getting some coupons (without going to the extreme) instead of just making up what we want on the spot is cheaper and just as good.
2. Buy meat in bulk when it's super-duper on sale and prepare it to freeze, to save money and make it easy to thaw out and cook when the time comes.
3. Make more cleaning products from vinegar than purchasing all the different kinds out there for every room in the house. I believe that it works just fine. I am not into disinfecting every last thing, so I think this will be a bargain way to make the house clean if we can handle the smell until it dries!
4. Create a cleaning schedule to take care of one or two smaller chores a day, so that things stay in good shape and last longer. All our appliances, furniture, and other fixtures will probably keep in tip top shape!
5. Grow some herbs & veggies outside. My dad found some planters at a garage sale and said I could have them if I promise to use them. Apparently mint, basil, and tomatoes aren't horribly difficult to grow. That could be a great saver for money and health! Just gotta keep the bunnies away :)
6. Use Groupon or find deals for eating out or doing date nights. One thing I love is that my Discover card has rewards that I can put towards restaurant gift cards and such if I'd like. I'm luckily well-trained and disciplined with credit card use, and so reaping those rewards isn't bad!
7. Working out and eating healthy as much as possible. Aren't I lucky I'm marrying a guy who sells memberships to a gym, for crying out loud?! These are the best long-term investments you can make with your money, because you are likely saving yourself medical bills down the line. Same with flossing and brushing your teeth well. All that cuts down the co-pays we could be shelling out for cholesterol medicine or root canals.

These are the lucky 7 I have been doing the most reading about. I hope that we can stick to our goals and be diligent now to enjoy other things in the future! There is one last thing, though, that we are both taking seriously in our budgeting of our money: tithing.

We both have struggled to treat this important component of faith and participating in Christ's body as important. It's a huge blessing to us and our brothers and sisters when we give what we have to support reaching others with the gospel and meeting both their practical and spiritual needs. Darin and I combined know probably thirty people whose entire living is made from the generosity of other believers who support their full-time devotion to ministry. So, one of the most important parts of our budget that isn't really negotiable is setting aside money to give away, since we can't really create our own wealth anyways -- it's given to us!

I am really loving learning how to grow up. There are plenty of challenges ahead in this area, I'm sure, but I'm so glad to be doing it alongside someone with the same goals and ideas that I have! (Minus how much I want to buy a pug, and Darin thinks they're ugly. We're working through that...)

Love, Lara

Getting Close to the End

Today, I turned in my very last International Studies term paper.

The last of very, very many papers that I've written in the past four years.

I only have 2 finals left, but they are both online and for business classes that I am taking on the side. For all intents and purposes, I am completely done with my International Studies degree and will be the proud holder of a USF B.A. on Friday! I CANNOT FREAKIN' BELIEVE IT.

I've both whined and joked about aspects of my major this whole time. People all the time would hear what I study and go, "Gosh, I wish I could do that!" That always cracks me up because, well, you could. I love international organizations, current affairs, culture, history, language, trade, policy, law, and all the goodies that are stirred around the pot of classes one takes at USF in this program. I had fun watching movies from Soviet Russia, writing case studies on human rights issues in China, and learning how to write in Arabic.

The other day, I thought for a second about how many professors I've had that were from different countries, and was really blown away when I realized what a rich body of knowledge I've been drawing from. I've studied under teachers from: Japan, Puerto Rico, South Africa, India, China, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Palestine, Ghana, Turkey, and Sweden. And the others have generally travelled all over the rest of the planet. Isn't it amazing to find out the perspectives of people from every other continent at school?

There have definitely been some grody moments in International Studies. I did not like memorizing the acronym-fest that is the IGO/NGO body. (Even that has acronyms, haha.) But if you ever want to know what the UN, UNSC, WTO, GATT, IMF, HRW, or MNCs are all about, hit me up! I was not thrilled at writing a paper on Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy objectives. That class was just evil. I almost fell asleep multiple times in American Foreign Policy, which was for 3 hours at night.

But the rewards have been so great. I've never doubted that I studied exactly what interests me most and fires me up about what I think it is important. I loved putting in the time and care to write a paper on Bosnian war crime tribunals for my Human Rights Class before I set foot there for the first time. My mind really came alive the times we had to formulate ideas on how to end conflicts, how to promote the rights of people all over the world, and how to celebrate the uniqueness of each culture on earth and find ways to interact as one humankind.

This major has had a hugely spiritual component for me. I get on a big soapbox about the idea of biblical, non-biblical, and abiblical things. There are things that the bible makes clear we should do and things we should not do, but there are many things that it makes no note of. So often, we ship a brand of Christianity around the world that has very American/Western instructions for setup. We make it seem like you must close your eyes to pray, that you must dress up for church, and many other traditions that rob us of the beauty of seeing other cultures embrace the purest nature of a relationship with Jesus, and experiencing his delight and joy in a way that culturally makes sense. I love that so many Asian churches all pray aloud simultaneously so that everyone can experience the cries going out to God at once! I love that so many African churches include dance as a form of worship! We Americans get so uncomfortable at such things... why? We are robbing others of seeing how God created their people groups uniquely and robbing ourselves of experiencing so many beautiful aspects of God's creation as human beings!

That seems like a tangent, but I am really passionate about this. And that drive really ties in with my huge interest in International Studies. If I could pick a dream job, it would be sharing the gospel with new residents of the U.S. I love international students and immigrant families. I hope that the Lord opens that door someday. :) But in the mean time, I have this sweet diploma to prove that I am all about the whole world and how neato it is!

I can't believe it's May of 2012. I'm sure more thoughts will come on this soon. But, in the mean time, go Bulls.

Love, Lara

Goal Maker

I've always been a big fan of lists. I used to make lists just for fun of my favorite cereals, my favorite flavors of ice cream, my favorite books, just because. It's a really weird thing to do just for fun - you are literally writing down things that you already know for the most part - but there's something satisfying about seeing it organized and on paper to me.

Lots of times, this weird hobby of mine is actually very helpful. I like pro & con lists, and how they help me make decisions about what to do. Making lists of the classes I've taken and the ones I still wanted to take helped me keep on track throughout college (NOTHING came as a surprise to me in terms of credits and whatnot). Making lists of places I'd like to travel helps me figure out what opportunities to keep an eye out for and save my money towards the ones with the most things I want to see, or what's nearby other places I like.

I was really inspired by the blog of a really awesome woman, the pastor's wife at the church I attend, Ashlee Proffitt. I barely, barely know her at all; I think she recognizes my face on Sunday mornings haha. However, I am a big fan of her design business. We have very similar taste in how things should look, I have noticed.

She has a great practice of putting her monthly goals out for all to see, which first of all forces you to make some goals in the first place that have a deadline, and also share them so other people can at least be a little interested in how they are progressing. Being a list fiend, this is right up my little left-brained alley! Oddly enough, the font she uses on her goals list is exactly the same as one I use all over the place. Again, coincidentally similar tastes. (Thanks Learning Curve.)

Although we're already through a good chunk of April, I have some goals in mind that I'd like to accomplish this month!

Spiritual Goals: 1. My roomie & friend Skylar had the great idea of reading through the Psalms downward that correspond to the number of days left hasta la boda. For example, 90 days left = read Psalm 90. Pretty neat! I have done it most days the past week since I thought about it but want to make it consistent.

2. I've been reading the awesome book Changes That Heal by Henry Cloud for USF Cru's Women's Challenge this semester. Unfortunately, I felt the need to back out of it this last month of school due to the billions of things that must occupy my time, but the book is awesome and I want to finish it up in my spare time. Highly recommended, even if you don't think you're all that messed up, haha. :)

3. Scripture memory. Also something I have been doing at Women's Challenge, and need to continue on my own. I love this verse; it really speaks on how to live in a godly community & bring others in.

Personal Goals: 1. Something I like a lot is fiddling around with graphic design software. I have no idea if I am very good at it or not. I did design my own wedding invitations and received enough positive feedback from trustworthy friends that I am confident in sending them out, but that's still a pretty small portfolio, hahaha. I found a nice online course that has more foundational things I want to learn. Gotta jump on it!

2. All semester I've made a point of exercising with Robbie after my Tuesday/Thursday classes. I also walk a lot to class, so I am not too worried about trying to cram in 5 days a week and become super buff. Just building a little muscle tone. It's fun!

3. Marriage + moving = perfect time to dump some clothes I do not wear or do not need. Not only do I have a ridiculous number of pieces that are Florida-tastic and not practical for living in Michigan year-round, but an abundance of free shirts from USF and the like. Can't wait to get it down to the basics.

Relationship Goals: 1. Darin and I have read through 1 Peter together for a while now. Darin proposed that we start reading the same passage together and come back to discuss it, and both of us independently wanted 1 Peter. Can't find an excuse not to with divine guidance like that! ;)

2. We have started the most perfect premarital counseling course humanly possible. It's online (perfect for this LDR situation we are in), biblically-based, AND was on a special for only $55! I can't wait to start it!

3. We usually pray together before hitting the hay, but sometimes we forget. Both of us want to make it more of a habit that we can carry into marriage.

Wedding Goals: 1. Figuring out the food is a lofty goal for this month, haha. I might need to keep it going into May. But making progress in that area is definitely necessary.

2. I am so close to this goal being done that I don't feel bad that the other one is a tall order, haha. I just need more stamps!

3. This is my last full month in Tampa, because I am heading back to Orlando to finish up wedding shenanigans in the comfort of the city in which the party is going down. Not all my lady friends will be able to come down there later this summer, so I am thinking we will have to have a more open-invite fiesta right here in the 813. I am going to bounce some ideas off my friends!

Goals are great! Even if you're not as much of a visual person when it comes to planning and organizing, you owe it to yourself to keep track of some things you are striving for regularly. There's a lot that everyone wants to do but doesn't set out a plan to just do it! Get you some!

Love, Lara